Blacksmithing Is Child’s Play for a Dark Mage - Chapter 69

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 69
Bilerent opened his eyes.
“The Marquis has granted permission. Ten thousand commoners. You may take them.”
The approval came instantly.
‘The Marquis has no lingering attachment to the commoners, it seems. Or perhaps… this is a test of me.’
Tay rose from his seat, his thoughts churning.
“Ah… I must offer my thanks to the Marquis!”
“Of course. Prepare a gift befitting your gratitude.”
Bilerent spoke without a trace of warmth. The message was clear: nothing came free.
“Naturally.”
Tay answered with a smile.
The audience ended there.
* * *
Tay left the Marquis’s castle grinning from ear to ear.
Ten thousand people acquired!
When ten thousand souls entered the territory, the Maker Barony would transform entirely.
It would leap from a mere frontier outpost into a true power within House of Harundel itself.
‘But.’
Tay’s pace slowed.
‘I’ll need to offer quite a generous gift.’
Ten thousand commoners—even as commoners, ten thousand was a substantial number.
From the Marquis’s perspective, they were ultimately useless population, but if Tay failed to offer a gift proportionate to such favor, his relationship with the Marquis could sour.
‘Then…’
Tay made his decision.
He would offer three thousand Medium Skeleton Warriors.
Of course, skeleton warriors alone wouldn’t suffice.
They required a means to control them.
He would send three hundred Skeleton Control Rings alongside them.
One ring could command ten skeleton warriors, so three hundred rings would be enough to operate all three thousand.
Three thousand skeleton warriors and three hundred rings.
At market price, the sum was astronomical.
But for Tay, it was a quantity he could replenish in ten months.
And exchanging it for a population of ten thousand was no loss at all. If anything, by raw cost, it was a gain!
‘The Marquis should be satisfied with this.’
Tay resumed his walk.
* * *
Bilerent stood in the chamber making his report to the Marquis.
“A gift has arrived from the Baron of Maker.”
The Marquis’s study.
Grimoire, the Marquis, sat behind a mountain of documents, pen in hand. He didn’t even look up at Bilerent’s report.
“What has come?”
“Three thousand Medium Skeleton Warriors. And three hundred Skeleton Control Rings. The skeleton warriors were delivered without equipment, but their combat prowess is judged to exceed that of common soldiers.”
Grimoire’s pen stopped.
“Three thousand?”
“Yes.”
The Marquis looked up.
“That’s worth more than ten thousand commoners.”
Three thousand soldiers.
Even for a Marquis of House of Harundel, this was precious.
Moreover, Medium Skeleton Warriors had been reported on before.
They were Undead with combat strength equal to—or surpassing—elite soldiers trained on proper provisions and using techniques from knightly families.
An elite soldier could slay three common soldiers alone, which was only natural.
The knightly family techniques were formidable in themselves, but these creatures spent their days eating and nothing but combat and swordplay training.
Should talent permit them, they would even become knights.
In this fantasy world, the limits of talent were absolute.
Training alone did not guarantee strength.
One could only grow strong if born with the talent to do so.
In that sense, among a hundred elite soldiers, perhaps one or two could become knights.
From the start, there were plenty without talent enough to reach the elite ranks.
But skeletons—what of them?
Ordinary skeletons are pathetically weak.
Those scarecrow-like creatures, weighing less than a fifth of a man, can be smashed to pieces by common soldiers without much effort.
But Medium Skeleton Warriors were different.
With bones layered upon one another to increase weight and strength, and bodies enlarged accordingly, they could fight on equal footing with elite troops if properly equipped.
And there were three thousand of them.
House of Harundel maintained only two thousand elite troops, and merely fielded another three thousand common soldiers.
That is, five thousand soldiers constituted the House of Harundel’s current fighting strength.
In pure numbers alone, that Baron Tay of Maker Barony had the advantage over House of Harundel.
“Indeed, it’s worth trading for one hundred thousand paupers.”
Bilerent nodded in agreement.
“I concur. The poor pay no taxes and only generate security expenses, so frankly, we’re grateful he’s taken them off our hands. And with three thousand skeleton warriors and three hundred rings to boot—”
“It’s not a bad bargain.”
The Duke picked up his pen again.
House of Harundel was not a noble house built on land.
It was a merchant noble, having accumulated wealth through trade and commerce.
Which is why the paupers held even less value to them.
In agricultural territories, even paupers could be incorporated as serfs, but in a trading city, the poor were nothing more than parasites.
“That Baron bears watching in the days ahead.”
The Duke murmured to himself, turning his attention back to the documents.
Bilerent bowed silently and withdrew.
* * *
Tay returned to his domain.
Naturally, he decided to begin the population increase project of one hundred thousand that Kael had proposed, though some preparation time was necessary.
He couldn’t bring one hundred thousand people all at once, and he needed to construct roads, build houses in advance, and designate land for farmland.
In any case, the work would proceed.
For that, each day would have to be spent well.
Then one day.
It was during breakfast.
Tay was spreading butter on bread in the dining hall next to his office. Rant sat across from him at the table.
The same morning as always.
Tay stayed close to Rant most of the time.
He made good use of her across various duties.
But then.
“Master. I have something to report.”
Tay’s hand froze.
What did she just say?
“I have advanced to Class 3, and the constraints of the Slave Contract Magic have been lifted.”
Rant said it matter-of-factly while buttering her bread, as casually as discussing the weather.
Tay was left stunned.
Wait. Just a moment.
‘What? What is she talking about?’
His mind tangled in an instant.
I’m still Class 2. And she’s Class 3?
And her speech. Why has her manner of speaking reverted?
Rant had said she was originally a young lady of a high-ranking noble house.
A very, very, very prestigious one at that.
Her manner of speaking when they first met was nothing like now.
Arrogant, haughty, speaking as if looking down from a great height.
That had changed after she became a slave and worked under him.
But now it had reverted completely to her original manner.
“Why are you speaking like that?”
“The constraints of the Slave Contract Magic have been lifted, haven’t they? I was weary from using an unfamiliar manner of speech all this time.”
“I see.”
“Quite so.”
Rant bit into her bread and chewed it contentedly.
Her attitude was so natural that Tay let out a hollow laugh despite himself.
That was it.
Slave Contract Magic.
While some versions of it were powerful, most of what was used was cheap magic.
The powerful versions cost considerably more, naturally enough.
Why waste such an expensive and powerful Slave Contract Magic on a mere disposable slave?
Which meant that once someone reached the Third Class as a mage or an equivalent Aura User, the magic would simply unravel.
But still—how much Black Magic training had she undergone to reach Third Class?
Black Magic was something you could learn even without Talent, though…
This had to be considered a state of overflowing Talent instead.
“So. You mean to keep calling me that?”
“If my master would permit it.”
“The magical bonds of the Slave Contract Magic are broken, you said. Yet you still call me master—why is that?”
“Just because the magical restraint of the contract has been severed does not mean I have completely freed myself from your collar, does it?”
Rant set down her butter knife as she spoke.
“Without my master’s strange Bloodline Ability, I would descend into madness once more.”
Rant’s curse.
The curse of being consumed by madness had to be periodically drained away by Tay’s Madness Accumulation skill. Even though the magical bonds of the slave contract had been severed, this part remained unchanged.
“Well, that much is true.”
Tay stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Hmm.
It was a complicated situation.
The slave contract was broken, yet the practical bonds of servitude persisted.
She had grown strong enough that the magical restraint dissolved upon reaching Third Class, yet the curse of madness kept her from leaving Tay’s side.
Her manner of speech?
During those years beneath the slave contract’s bondage, she had suffered pain if she didn’t speak like a slave. That is—she had forced herself to endure an uncomfortable situation.
At that moment, Dialogue began sparkling and chattering away from atop Tay’s shoulder.
“Oh! Now that’s quite a distinctive character trait emerging! This is turning into an increasingly thrilling harem party, isn’t it!?”
Tay’s expression became one of sheer bewilderment.
“You keep saying harem, but there’s only one woman here.”
What in the world is this thing going on about…
“Then I could simply become female! Haha! Why don’t you give me a female body sometime, Master?”
“I’m going to lose my mind…”
Tay exhaled a long sigh.
‘Though it’s not like I couldn’t give it one, right? The Crazy Craftsman can build androids, after all.’
Tay’s thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Rant continued eating her meal with perfect composure.
She ate bread, sipped soup, and picked at fruit.
Her bearing was that of a true noble lady.
Her back was straight, her elbows did not touch the table, and she chewed with her mouth closed.
Somewhere in the midst of this, Ash had emerged from the shadows.
He regarded Rant with evident curiosity and adjusted his monocle.
“I thought it peculiar before as well.”
Ash spoke up.
“It seems your slave is not of common lineage, contractor.”
Rant paused mid-spoonful of soup and looked toward Ash.
“You see clearly, demon.”
Rant’s eyes sparkled.
“A rare bloodline, uncommon even across this entire continent. Because of it, the knowledge in her mind is vast, and her Talent is exceptional—which is why she ascended to Third Class Black Mage so swiftly.”
“I see… Talent, then.”
Ash tilted his head thoughtfully.
“Indeed. Special bloodlines are powerful. Even in Guchen Hell, demons of superior bloodlines are born with the strength of the mid-rank from birth.”
Black Mage Too Easy as a Blacksmith
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AutomatonG
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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